See where QSRs are expanding overseas
And why some are focusing on home soil.
Several Australia quick service restaurants (QSRs) are now mulling if not already preparing to open new stores abroad. But not all franchise brands are keen to go global just yet. Some are choosing to focus first on growing their business in Australia.
Overseas expansion plans
Among those eyeing overseas expansion are Burger Edge, Crave Frozen Yogurt and SumoSalad.
“We are looking at Southeast Asia and the Middle East,” said Burger Edge franchisor Issam Soubjaki. He said the biggest challenge to overseas expansion is finding the right local partner who will be able to contribute their local expertise and help the brand break into the local market.
“It is a mutual investment in each other’s business,” said Soubjaki on the kind of relationship QSRs have with their overseas expansion partners.
Meanwhile, Crave Frozen Yogurt is set to establish stores in four regional markets across three continents.
“We’re looking at China, Southeast Asia, Brazil and South Africa,” said Crave Frozen Yogurt franchisor Aleksandar Svetski.
Over at SumoSalad, the plan is to conquer both North and South America following its successful ventures in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
“By the end of 2014 we will have launched new stores in the key markets of North and South America,” said Luke Baylis, CEO at SumoSalad, which will add to the 9 international stores the healthy food franchise has already set up across New Zealand, London, Dubai and Singapore.
Baylis said choosing North and South America for their next regional expansion phase was easy enough to make.
“In this case these particular markets chose us before we could choose them, with business executives in these markets approaching SumoSalad with a proposal to expand in their respective markets.”
To successfully break into both new overseas markets, Baylis stressed on listening to local feedback from master franchisees. From their input, SumoSalad can create new offerings suited to the eating and lifestyle habits of local residents.
“In the US, the master franchisee noticed a need for easy, convenient and affordable healthy lunchtime options, the current availability of this is scarce and consumers are hungry for fresh accessible produce. For the expansion plans in Brazil, the master franchisee noticed that a healthy lifestyle is truly prevalent in the culture, where fresh food is the centerpiece of most dining experiences,” said Baylis.
Focus first on Australia
A couple of QSRs though are resisting the allure of overseas expansion in favor of growing their presence in Australia.
“Our main focus is on the Australian market, and growing and strengthening the brands locally. We do not actively seek international markets,” said Nicola Mills, Group MD at Pacific Retail Management, the umbrella company for food franchises like Go Sushi, Wasabi Warriors and Kick! Juice Bars.
That is not to say that Pacific Retail Management has not been approached for overseas franchisees.
“We have received quite a lot of interest in our brand, Wasabi Warriors, from Dubai and have been approached by some fantastic partners. We are looking to open our first store there in 2014, and will make changes to opening hours and the menu to take into account local needs and favourite sushi varieties,” said Mills.
The sandwich franchise Healthy Habits also shares this propensity to stay local for now, opting to solidify their presence in Australia instead of embarking on possibly costly and risky overseas expansions.
“We have no plans for overseas markets at this point. We are a very young business and whilst 28 stores are not inconsiderable, there is significant room for growth for us,” said Mark Buckland, Managing Director at Healthy Habits.
“We are seeing real traction in our existing business and gaps in the market left by other operators that we believe we are uniquely qualified to fill. For the moment there is more than enough to keep our team busy focused squarely on Australia,” added Buckland.
